Takumi's golden eyes were filled with curiosity as the six new gods took a sip of tea.
"Good..."
It wasn't clear if he was praising Zhongli's tea or approving of the six newly promoted gods.
Although there were quite a few gods in the world of Teyvat now, they were still not numerous.
Just when the six gods of faith appeared, the 'Original Dharma Ring' received six brand-new rules. Though they were only derivative rules, they did strengthen the 'Original Dharma Ring' a little.
You must understand that 'rules' are also divided into 'original rules' and 'derived rules.'
If 'original rules' are like rivers, then 'derived rules' are tributaries.
'Original rules' and 'derived rules' together build the prosperous ecology of nature. If there were only a 'main river' without tributaries, there could be no 'forest.'
Concepts like 'time and space,' 'life and death,' 'contracts,' 'hope,' and others are all 'original rules.'
The rules like the Eighth Level God Son's 'Conquering Demons,' Xianyun's 'Mechanism,' A Ping's 'Hutian,' Gan Yu's 'Auspiciousness,' and others are branches of 'derived rules' that belong to the 'original rules.'
For a 'world,' the 'original rules' are the branches, while 'derived rules' are the leaves.
"The future prosperity of the Teyvat pantheon depends on you."
"Although the thrones are temporarily fixed, the future is bright. The stronger the world becomes, the more significant your influence will be."
Lord Shayue Zhuyang quickly lowered his head respectfully and said, "Since we have become gods, we naturally devote ourselves to the world and the pantheon until the end."
Takumi looked at the young man, who smiled gently, completely different from the ruthless nature of the world. The newly added tension weakened a little, and he quickly added, "Yes, we will certainly dedicate ourselves to the world."
Xiao bowed his head. "Me too."
Gan Yu also nodded nervously.
They understood that becoming gods inevitably meant they must shoulder the responsibilities of gods.
Zhongli's eyes were filled with yearning.
Though the thrones were fixed for now, the future of the pantheon was brilliant.
Without annexing another world, Teyvat would grow stronger. As the world strengthened, the 'Rule of Rock' and 'Rule of Contract' would also grow stronger.
He was now three times as powerful as he had been during his full power in the Demon God War.
Zhongli came back to his senses and asked respectfully, "Do you have any arrangements, Lord Tianli, for your stay in this world?"
Takumi waved his hand. "Don't worry about me; just carry out the mission as planned."
Istaru crossed her arms, glancing at Zhongli before looking back at her master with a knowing smile.
Didn't she know her master well enough? Wherever there was fun, her master would be there.
Even if there wasn't any fun, her master would find some.
No, the master had already found something amusing.
Zhongli gave a slight bow. "In half a month, at most, we will unify the world."
Liuyun Jiefeng Zhenjun nodded. "That's correct."
Including the Lord God, there were now seven gods. If they still failed, they would consider it a personal disgrace before Lord Tianli.
Takumi waved his hand. "Go and do your work."
"Yes."
Zhongli and the six gods bowed slightly and disappeared from the temple in an instant.
Takumi touched his chin thoughtfully.
Under the influence of the 'God Ascension Ceremony,' more than half of Teyvat's foothold had been established in this world.
Once the order of 'Liyue' successfully spread across the entire world, the 'annexation' could begin.
Most of the major yōkai had surrendered to King Douya's forces within just ten days.
Now, only the Hyakki Yakou of the 'Nura Group,' the great yōkai of the Shikoku region, the Hidden God Tanuki of Xingbu, and the 'Tono' yōkai remained.
Under the power of the seven gods, King Douya did not even need to act. As soon as he appeared, the yōkai immediately fell to the ground and surrendered.
In the end, only Kyoto remained, stubbornly resisting.
"Tsk, tsk, humans are so greedy that they'd rather destroy the world to satisfy their desires."
Under Takumi's gaze, Abe no Seimei continued sending immense power to the ground.
And those great yōkai were constantly absorbing the 'power of the underworld.'
Was the 'power of the underworld' so easy to absorb? It was the highest power in the world of the dead. Raising it to the level of an immortal was already the limit for yōkai.
And those yōkai refused to stop, transforming entirely into monstrous beings of the underworld. Their power was so immense that the moment they touched the essence of the gods, their consciousness was erased by the 'Calendar of Underworld.'
It could be said that after absorbing the 'power of the underworld,' all the yōkai in Kyoto had become Abe no Seimei's puppets...
And Abe no Seimei, who resided in the 'Yellow Spring Country,' was also frantically absorbing the 'power of the underworld' overflowing from the 'Supreme God Seat.'
He transformed from his original god-like form into a monstrous figure covered in bloated, rotten flesh.
But he now exuded an aura of a god.
As for the 'power of the underworld' overflowing from the 'Supreme God's Seat,' well, of course, it was intentional—he, as the God of Creation, allowed it.
A being like Abe no Seimei, who was selfish enough to treat even his own mother as a tool, was only worthy of becoming the ultimate villain in the script of the gods' rule over the world.
Takumi touched his chin and joked, "If you want to destroy it, you must first let it go mad."
Rex Lapis and the six divine lords had left, leaving only Princess Ryotsuki in the temple.
This made her panic.
The emperor! The six divine kings! Where are they? Why didn't you take me with you?
Leaving a mere 'god reserve' yōkai at the immortal level alone with the 'Lord of Heaven' in the temple—she was so terrified!
Thump, thump, thump...
How loud was a great yōkai's heartbeat? It echoed throughout the temple.
Takumi's golden eyes turned towards her, a hint of amusement at the corner of his mouth.
Even Zhongli and the Lords of the Gods would inevitably be nervous and on edge when facing him.
But they wouldn't make the mistake of coming back to apologize—it would be even more foolish to do so.
Princess Ryotsuki quickly covered her chest, her face flushed.
The 'Lord God of the Imperial Palace' was looking at her. Oh my god, what should I do?
Princess Ryotsuki's panicked body refused to obey her commands, and she knelt on the ground with an audible 'thud,' too frightened to speak.
Takumi walked over slowly, and Istaru smiled mischievously, knowing her master wanted to toy with this young yōkai.
It was similar to the fox spirit they had teased in Inazuma.
To her, the entire world belonged to the 'Eternal Throne,' and it was natural for the Eternal Throne to do as it pleased.
The 'Eternal Throne' having human emotions was better for them.
Otherwise, if he were as cold and ruthless as Fanes, it would make these dependents terrified.
Takumi approached Princess Ryotsuki and said, "Princess Ryotsuki? Well, she is quite a beautiful little yōkai."